During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period? Reflect on your reading about the NGSS science and engineering practices. What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
CT X has a very strict teaching style. X does not tolerate any talking or cell phones (although students still sneakily get on their cell phones). X does not take any excuses for breaking the rules; I have seen 4 or 5 students get "detention" after school for coming in late, being on their cell phones, and needing to make up homework. The students seem wary of X but they also seem to respect X. There have been a few occasions where I have been shocked by the tone that X has taken with some students. The students were not asking purposefully disrupting questions, but they usually asked something that had already been said. I would not feel comfortable talking to students that way - it seemed very disrespectful. Occasionally X will reach out and talk to students, but from what I have seen it is only to X's favorite students (these students are also sitting closest to the teacher so it may just be a coincidence). In the relationship, X definitely holds the power over the students and the students are very aware of it. I worry that the students are a little afraid of X and do not find X approachable. I rarely see students approaching X or asking X questions, even when prompted. With that being said, the students are extremely well behaved for X. I have never seen any real behavior issues in any of X's classes. X is also very consistent in how they treat all of their classes. X does not seem to favor one class over another, but I feel like some students may be favored over others. Overall, there is not a very nurturing classroom, but I could see how high achieving students would really like X's class. This is pretty much the opposite of the relationship with my students. I want to be warm and inviting. I want to be approachable. I want to show respect for my students and I want them to have respect for me. I do not want them to be afraid to answer incorrectly or ask questions. I want to take a more humanistic approach with my students because I want them to be more humanistic citizens when they leave my class. I know that my approach will probably lead to a less controlled classroom, but I would much prefer that to a strict classroom like X's.
During lab activities, X will introduce what they are doing, read the lab instructions and remind them of safe lab behaviors. X will then circulate the room to help students and answer questions. Students work in pairs or independently for all labs. The labs I have seen were very scripted. They had a clear outline of steps and an expected outcome. I do not think these labs were what the NGSS were hoping for. The students are not thinking during the lab - they are reading and doing. I think labs for the NGSS would look more like prompts where students think about procedures and how they would model the problem or find the answer to a question (there would be an element of design or input). I also think it is more inline with the NGSS if the students did not know what they were looking for exactly.
CT Y has a more relaxed teaching style. Y is much more interactive with the students, both academically and when asking personal questions specific to the students. The students are much more willing to answer questions during class, but Y still has to call on students when no one has their hand raised. Y also uses a lot of small group tasks so that they can answer questions and ask questions. While Y still holds the power in the classroom, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and I have never seen a student get in trouble, even though I have seen Y address students when they are acing inappropriately. Usually, Y just redirects behavior. Y does not seem to had differently toward their different class nor does Y act differently toward their students. From what I can tell, all students are treated equally. I really like how Y treats their students and that I how I want to treat my students. Y told me that they try to treat their students with respect because that is how they want to be treated and that is how they would want their children to be treated in the classroom. I hope to also use the "golden rule" when I engage with my students. The students are much less controlled than in X's class, but they do not really misbehave. Treating students the way Y treats students will probably require greater classroom management skills, which makes me a little nervous.
CT X has a very strict teaching style. X does not tolerate any talking or cell phones (although students still sneakily get on their cell phones). X does not take any excuses for breaking the rules; I have seen 4 or 5 students get "detention" after school for coming in late, being on their cell phones, and needing to make up homework. The students seem wary of X but they also seem to respect X. There have been a few occasions where I have been shocked by the tone that X has taken with some students. The students were not asking purposefully disrupting questions, but they usually asked something that had already been said. I would not feel comfortable talking to students that way - it seemed very disrespectful. Occasionally X will reach out and talk to students, but from what I have seen it is only to X's favorite students (these students are also sitting closest to the teacher so it may just be a coincidence). In the relationship, X definitely holds the power over the students and the students are very aware of it. I worry that the students are a little afraid of X and do not find X approachable. I rarely see students approaching X or asking X questions, even when prompted. With that being said, the students are extremely well behaved for X. I have never seen any real behavior issues in any of X's classes. X is also very consistent in how they treat all of their classes. X does not seem to favor one class over another, but I feel like some students may be favored over others. Overall, there is not a very nurturing classroom, but I could see how high achieving students would really like X's class. This is pretty much the opposite of the relationship with my students. I want to be warm and inviting. I want to be approachable. I want to show respect for my students and I want them to have respect for me. I do not want them to be afraid to answer incorrectly or ask questions. I want to take a more humanistic approach with my students because I want them to be more humanistic citizens when they leave my class. I know that my approach will probably lead to a less controlled classroom, but I would much prefer that to a strict classroom like X's.
During lab activities, X will introduce what they are doing, read the lab instructions and remind them of safe lab behaviors. X will then circulate the room to help students and answer questions. Students work in pairs or independently for all labs. The labs I have seen were very scripted. They had a clear outline of steps and an expected outcome. I do not think these labs were what the NGSS were hoping for. The students are not thinking during the lab - they are reading and doing. I think labs for the NGSS would look more like prompts where students think about procedures and how they would model the problem or find the answer to a question (there would be an element of design or input). I also think it is more inline with the NGSS if the students did not know what they were looking for exactly.
CT Y has a more relaxed teaching style. Y is much more interactive with the students, both academically and when asking personal questions specific to the students. The students are much more willing to answer questions during class, but Y still has to call on students when no one has their hand raised. Y also uses a lot of small group tasks so that they can answer questions and ask questions. While Y still holds the power in the classroom, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and I have never seen a student get in trouble, even though I have seen Y address students when they are acing inappropriately. Usually, Y just redirects behavior. Y does not seem to had differently toward their different class nor does Y act differently toward their students. From what I can tell, all students are treated equally. I really like how Y treats their students and that I how I want to treat my students. Y told me that they try to treat their students with respect because that is how they want to be treated and that is how they would want their children to be treated in the classroom. I hope to also use the "golden rule" when I engage with my students. The students are much less controlled than in X's class, but they do not really misbehave. Treating students the way Y treats students will probably require greater classroom management skills, which makes me a little nervous.
I have not seen a lab in Y's class yet.